Librarian to information manager
A librarian already meets 39% of what the information manager role asks for. The move turns on 10 required skills not yet in the profile.
63.5/ 100
1 How much of what an information manager is expected to do is already part of a librarian’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the information manager role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
An information manager role treats 7 of its required skills as things a librarian already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- assess informational needs
- copyright legislation
- develop solutions to information issues
- manage digital libraries
- manage information access aids
- perform customer management
What stands in the way is 10 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 11 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. An information manager role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a librarian background worth leading with.
- already held develop solutions to information issues communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held manage digital libraries working with computers
- already held manage information access aids information skills
- already held assess informational needs communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held create semantic trees information skills
- already held use software for data preservation working with computers
All 11 carried skills, including the 7 the information manager role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 19 missing skills fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn analyse information systems required
- still to learn evaluate project plans required
- still to learn manage data required
- optional, not held analyse big data optional
- still to learn develop organisational information goals required
- still to learn develop information standards required
- optional, not held manage budgets optional
- optional, not held manage schedule of tasks optional
- optional, not held supervise daily information operations optional
- still to learn corporate sustainability required
- still to learn data quality assessment required
- optional, not held organisational learning optional
- still to learn cooperate to resolve information issues required
- still to learn design information system required
- still to learn perform data mining required
- optional, not held maintain information network hardware optional
- optional, not held manage digital documents optional
- optional, not held manage digital identity optional
1 further area in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries an information manager role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 analyse information systems practise this
- 02 cooperate to resolve information issues practise this
- 03 develop organisational information goals practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 11 skills that carry over
- already held assess informational needs skill
- already held copyright legislation knowledge
- already held develop solutions to information issues skill
- already held manage digital libraries skill
- already held manage information access aids skill
- already held perform customer management skill
- already held recruit employees skill
- already held create semantic trees skill
- already held digitise documents skill
- already held use databases skill
- already held use software for data preservation skill
The 1 learning area not shown above
- optional, not held knowledge base optional
9 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held organisational learning optional
- optional, not held analyse big data optional
- optional, not held knowledge base optional
- optional, not held maintain information network hardware optional
- optional, not held manage budgets optional
- optional, not held manage digital documents optional
- optional, not held manage digital identity optional
- optional, not held manage schedule of tasks optional
- optional, not held supervise daily information operations optional
43 held skills the information manager role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role analyse library users' queries skill
- not needed by the target role apply for library funding skill
- not needed by the target role apply social media marketing skill
- not needed by the target role arrange interlibrary loans skill
- not needed by the target role assist in library facility planning skill
- not needed by the target role assist in the organisation of school events skill
- not needed by the target role assist students with library operations skill
- not needed by the target role buy new library items skill
- not needed by the target role classify library materials skill
- not needed by the target role collection management knowledge
- not needed by the target role compile library lists skill
- not needed by the target role conduct scholarly research skill
- not needed by the target role confer with library colleagues skill
- not needed by the target role coordinate educational programmes skill
- not needed by the target role develop artistic educational activities skill
- not needed by the target role develop classification systems skill
- not needed by the target role digital curation knowledge
- not needed by the target role digitization knowledge
- not needed by the target role draw up professional texts skill
- not needed by the target role escort students on a field trip skill
- not needed by the target role evaluate information services using metrics skill
- not needed by the target role guarantee students' safety skill
- not needed by the target role information governance compliance knowledge
- not needed by the target role kindergarten school procedures knowledge
- not needed by the target role literature knowledge
- not needed by the target role maintain library equipment skill
- not needed by the target role manage digital archives skill
- not needed by the target role manage fundraising activities skill
- not needed by the target role manage human resources skill
- not needed by the target role music and video industry knowledge
- not needed by the target role musical genres knowledge
- not needed by the target role negotiate library contracts skill
- not needed by the target role organise information skill
- not needed by the target role oversee extra-curricular activities skill
- not needed by the target role perform playground surveillance skill
- not needed by the target role post-secondary school procedures knowledge
- not needed by the target role primary school procedures knowledge
- not needed by the target role provide library information skill
- not needed by the target role scientific research methodology knowledge
- not needed by the target role secondary school procedures knowledge
3 further entries not listed here
4 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn corporate sustainability required
- still to learn data quality assessment required
- optional, not held organisational learning optional
- optional, not held knowledge base optional
Other moves recorded from librarian
Common questions about this move
Can a librarian become an information manager?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A librarian already covers 39% of what an information manager is expected to do: 11 skills carry over, 7 of which the information manager role treats as required.
What skills does a librarian need to become an information manager?
10 required skills are missing, plus 9 optional ones. They fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by information skills. The single most important is analyse information systems.
How hard is the move from librarian to information manager?
Its learning distance is 63.5 out of 100, which is the substantial band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.